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Sebastian LaCroix
Sebastian LaCroix is a French Kindred of the Ventrue clan and Camarilla Prince of Los Angeles in the Final Nights. Biography Born in Calais, France, LaCroix ascended in the ranks of Napoleon's army until, presumably in his early twenties, he was embraced by a Belgian Ventrue nobleman. He climbed through the Camarilla's ranks, having several charges in France and England before becoming Prince in Los Angeles sometime between 1994 and 2004. He is head of the LaCroix Foundation, and resides in the Venture Tower in downtown Los Angeles, commanding the city from his penthouse office. By Camarilla tradition, he is the prince of all Kindred within his domain, though few acknowledge his authority. According to the anarchs of Los Angeles, LaCroix's position in vampire society was not earned naturally but by other means; additionally, they believe that the Camarilla's laws cannot be applied to them by the prince, seeing as they are free. Toward the end of October in 2004, events were set in motion which led to LaCroix's destruction. One of the Kindred in his domain had sired without permission, and both sire and childe were to be executed as a public warning. While the sire was killed, local Anarch leader Armando Rodriguez protested, and LaCroix allowed the childe to live as a demonstration of his clemency. As "payment" for his generosity, the childe was made to serve as the Prince's pawn, a pawn which rose in importance as the prince learned of the arrival of the Ankaran Sarcophagus. The prince became increasingly obsessed with the Sarcophagus, eventually becoming convinced it held an elder, maybe an Antediluvian, or perhaps even Caine himself. He wanted to possess the Sarcophagus in order to diablerize whoever he found within. Unfortunately, he found nothing within but his own destruction. Quotes *''"The folly of leadership is knowing that, no matter what you do, behind your back there are hundreds, certain that their own solution is the sounder one, and that your decision was the by-product of a whimsical dart toss''. I pronounce the blast sentence, and I soak the critical fallout. I make the decisions no-one else will. Leadership... I wear the albatross and a bullseye." *''"Power is life to our kind. Those without power disintegrate into the nights of the past, hundreds of names I know once instilled fear, now unknown. You see it's not enough to attain power, one must also maintain power."'' * "Each minor problem like a grain of sand, each night I inherit the desert." * "GIVE. ME. THE. KEY!" Game notes LaCroix is the primary antagonist of , though because he rules L.A. the player will generally have to work for him, whatever their true loyalties. LaCroix provides many of the storyline's main quests, and also offers several sidequests through e-mail. He will grant you access to a dwelling in the Skyline apartment building, unless the player's character is rude or a Tremere or Nosferatu. Quests *Santa Monica Though technically not a quest, the entire city of Santa Monica was a quest given by the prince for the player to complete. It acts as a sort of extended tutorial area. *Explosive beginning *Elizabethan rendezvous *Calling Dr. Grout *Patron of the ancient arts *The epic of the Ankaran Sarcophagus *A dish best served cold *Hell at Hotel Hallowbrook *The enemy of my enemy *Ming must die! Trivia *LaCroix likes to bend his subjects to his will, including those he works with. Much like Velvet Velour, he prefers to extend his dominion through others. * Canonically, LaCroix dies. In Bloodlines five major endings, he dies in three, and is held captive in the other two (and presumably, later destroyed). * Prince LaCroix's recent destruction is referenced to in the novel , the first book of the Time of Judgment Trilogy and the final Vampire: The Masquerade novel of the line's original run. Thus, the appearances of Smiling Jack and Beckett (and possibly Caine) occur in Bloodlines before their appearances in the Gehenna novel. * Although purely speculative, it should be noted that LaCroix's tone of voice when he mentions being "Embraced by a Belgian noble" is not a pleasant one and might allude to an unwanted or troublesome Embrace. This is interesting as the Ventrue tend to take pride in their heritage. * LaCroix is probably named after Lucien LaCroix, the head vampire from the mid-'90s vampire series Forever Knight, although that LaCroix's name is pronounced in a more proper French fashion (la crwah) rather than the Anglicized version (la croy). The name translates to "the cross," an ironic name for a vampire. It's one of several references in Bloodlines to Forever Knight. References * * (mentioned only) Category:Ventrue (VTM) Category:Princes (VTM) Category:Vampires of unknown generation LaCroix, Sebastian Category:Vampire: The Masquerade character